I am a community garden coordinator, and this is my garden’s first year of operation. We don’t lock the garden – and this year we planted tomatoes around the entrance so that people who were inclined to take produce would be able to do so without interfering with the individual plots. We had no vandalism at all, and the local homeless population seemed pleased.

Do any other community gardeners out there use this strategy? What do you plant? I am hoping to expand that portion of the garden for next year.

Becca

We get kids every once in a while who climb over the fence and take or break seed heads, that sort of thing. We are more concerned about our tools than the veggies, since this year our tomatoes don't taste good and we want somebody to take some zucchini, and we have been warned about recent tool and equipment thefts nearby.
People stop by from time to time, and the local homeless people travel nearby, but keep a very low profile and usually go for the dumpsters outside the gate. We have more of a problem with some gardeners taking things from other gardens without permission than we do from outsiders. We leave free stuff up front, but inside the gates, but most of our extra goes to the food bank.

In my country, "night farming" is a serious problem. Those with fruit trees have had such dramatic issues they have in some cases cut down prolific trees. Easily harvested items are prime for theft. Tactics that welcome people is an interesting idea but in our situation, keeping as low a profile as possible seems the best way....unless like me you have a plan afoot to feed an entire country such that they have no need to steal....

Ive seen this done in a few places. The Gardens arn't locked.
The Shed is.